Fanning the Flames, Part 2
by madmother2
Summary: This is the continuation of Fanning the Flames; please read that first.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: This is the continuation of Fanning the Flames. It starts two weeks after chapter twenty-four of Fanning the Flames.  
Sorry for the long delay; real life has been getting in the way and is going to do so for a few more weeks. I'll update as much as I can.

Chapter One

Jean-Luc looked around him appreciatively; there were many things about the Enterprise-E that he didn't like as much as the Enterprise-D but the holodecks were significantly improved. Urging his horse into a canter, he found it easy to pretend that he was in France and he felt his stress melting away as he concentrated on the horse beneath him and the path ahead.

Deanna felt a subtle relaxation in her mood and after a moment realised that she was sensing a change in Jean-Luc's mood. Pleased that he was enjoying himself, she turned her attention back to the Bridge. For the first time since their bond had formed Deanna was Officer of the Watch. She was not included in the normal Bridge rotation since she was part of the primary medical team but in order to retain her Bridge Commander qualification she was required to command a certain number of shifts. When her name had come up on the rota, Jean-Luc had suggested that he absent himself so as to avoid affecting her concentration. Deanna had demurred, saying,

'I need to get used to commanding when you're nearby.'

'Do you? There aren't many situations when you'd be in command of the Bridge when I was present.'

'That's true…'

'But…?'

'But I feel as though I ought to be working on controlling the bond.'

'Is it possible to control it?'

'I don't know. Some people seem to be able to, some don't.'

Seeing Deanna's frustration, Jean-Luc had taken her hands in his, saying,

'We'll work it out. I'll investigate Vulcan techniques in case I can use something I remember from the mind meld with Sarek. You investigate Betazoid techniques. Your mother might be able to suggest something.'

'Good idea. I'll comm her tonight.'

'In the meantime, I'll take the day off when you're on duty which will serve the double purpose of getting me out of your way and getting Beverly off my back.'

'Has she been nagging you again?'

'She cornered me in my Ready Room and basically ordered me to take some time off.'

'She's been nagging me as well.'

'We could take a couple of days off together, if you like?'

Jean-Luc's voice had been eager and the accompanying surge of arousal that Deanna sensed had made it clear how he wanted to spend their time off. Deanna had happily assented before surrendering to their bond, stripping her clothes off and leading him to the bedroom.

Deanna was snapped out of her introspection by Worf's voice saying,

'Commander, Escape Pod one-oh-two is about to launch.'

'Abort,' replied Deanna.

'Unable to abort. Launch in forty-five seconds.'

'Is anyone aboard?'

'Yes, sensors show one human aboard.'

'Computer, abort launch of Escape Pod one-oh-two.'

'Unable to comply. Command authorisation required.'

'Thirty seconds,' said Worf.

'Advise whoever's in the pod to strap in.'

'Yes, Commander.'

Whilst Worf spoke to the pod's occupant Deanna thought hard. Cutting across Worf's discussion, Deanna hit the 'All hands' button on the command chair's console and said,

'All hands, emergency brace.'

Then without closing the circuit she said,

'Helm, all stop. All hands, brace for manoeuvring.'

'All stop, Commander.'

The Enterprise lurched as the ship dropped from warp 4 to full stop and Deanna held on to the armrests to avoid being thrown out of her seat.

'Escape pod away,' said Worf.

'Helm, get it in a tractor beam.'

'Yes, Commander.'

'Sensor sweep, please, Mister Worf. Captain Picard to the Bridge, please.'

The latter was undoubtedly unnecessary since the chances of Jean-Luc staying in the holodeck were non-existent but Deanna wanted to follow the correct protocol. Pushing the 'All hands' button once more, Deanna said,

'All departments roll call and report.'

Releasing the button, she turned her attention back to the helm officer, saying,

'Do you have it?'

'Yes, Commander. I'm bringing it in now.'

'Good. Worf, had we dropped out of warp before it launched?'

'Yes and Mister Nechayev had strapped in.'

Deanna felt relief course through her; survival rates for warp speed escape pod launches were very low and Bill Nechayev was not a young man. Keeping her face serene, she said,

'Good. Hail the escape pod please.'

'No response.'

'Life signs?'

'Life signs are still present. It is not uncommon for humans to be rendered unconscious by an escape pod launch.'

Deanna nodded acknowledgement and turned back to the helm officer,

'Which bay are you bringing the pod into.'

'Shuttle Bay Two, Ma'am.'

Tapping the comm, she said,

'Bridge to Sickbay.'

'Sickbay here.'

Beverly's voice was calm and Deanna felt her heartbeat starting to slow as she realised that the immediate crisis was over.

'Can you send a medical team to Shuttle Bay Two please, Doctor. Mister Nechayev appears to have accidentally launched an escape pod.'

'Is he all right?'

'Unknown. He's not responding to hails.'

'I'll get right down there.'

There was a murmur in the background and Beverly continued,

'Medical department all accounted for. No injuries.'

'Good.'

There was a pause and Deanna realised that Beverly was waiting in case she had further instructions. Mildly amused by the role reversal, Deanna kept her voice strictly professional as she said,

'Troi out.'

Deanna sat back in the captain's chair and waited for the other departments to report in.

A couple of minutes later the turbolift doors opened to admit Jean-Luc. Deanna had known that he was going riding but she was unprepared for the impact that the sight of him in tight riding breeches and a slightly rumpled shirt would have on her. Momentarily transfixed, she felt her mind starting to reach towards his. Fortunately, Jean-Luc chose that moment to say,

'Report.'

The formality snapped her back into her usual professional mode and she began to report even as her mind swirled. Shocked by how close she'd come to initiating their bond in the middle of the Bridge, Deanna raised her shields fully and moved away from the centre of the Bridge as she explained the sequence of events. When she'd finished he nodded acknowledgement and said,

'Any injuries?'

'The Science Department report one minor injury, the Command, Medical and Security departments report no injuries. I'm still waiting for the Engineering Department to report in, Sir.'

'Good. Mister Worf, contact Mister LaForge and ask if he needs any extra manpower to help with the roll call.'

'Yes, Captain.'

The Engineering Department always took the longest to report simply because their members were likely to be scattered all over the ship. Unfortunately, they were also the most likely to be injured; sometimes there would just be nothing for them to hang on to.

Jean-Luc looked at Deanna who was waiting for orders and was struck by the sudden urge to kiss her. Exerting rigid control, he said,

'Commander, please go down to Shuttle Bay Two and download the computer logs from the escape pod.'

'Yes, Captain.'

Deanna left the Bridge as quickly as possible, making sure that she didn't pass Jean-Luc on the way. Once she was in the turbolift, she sagged against the wall, breathing deeply. They had to find a way to control the bond otherwise one day their crewmates would get a show that would shock even the most broad-minded of them. As she thought about making love in inappropriate places, Deanna wondered how Deltans managed. Deltans took a vow of celibacy when serving with other races but there were vessels crewed entirely by Deltans and it was highly unlikely that they were celibate. In fact, from what Deanna remembered from her xeno-psychology courses, it would be impossible for the telepathic, highly sexual Deltans to remain celibate when surrounded by their own kind. Deanna had met several Deltans but didn't know any well but her mother was sure to know someone. Feeling slightly more optimistic about their out-of-control bond, Deanna left the turbolift and focussed on the job at hand.

The escape pod was safely inside the shuttle bay and as Deanna arrived, Beverly emerged from inside it. Deanna hurried over, saying,

'How is he?'

'He's got a mild concussion and extensive bruising. He should be fine but I'll give the captain a full report once I've got him on a bio bed; the bruising could be masking more serious injuries.'

'Understood.'

Deanna waited whilst the medical team carefully removed Bill from the escape pod then went inside. Initiating the computer upload sequence, she quickly scanned through the data. A few seconds later she was swearing under her breath in Betazoid. Tapping her comm badge, she said,

'Troi to Picard.'

'Picard here.'

'I recommend that we remain at full stop for now, Captain. My preliminary analysis suggests a safety system error.'

'Understood. Is the data from the escape pod uploaded to the Bridge?'

'Yes, Captain. I sent it to Science One.'

'Good. I'll get Data to look into it. Has Admiral Nechayev been informed of the incident?'

'No, Sir.'

Admiral Nechayev had been released to quarters four days ago though it would be another couple of weeks at least before she was cleared for duty.

'Get Geordi to send an Engineering team to investigate the escape pod, then go and tell Admiral Nechayev what's going on.'

'Yes, Captain.'

Deanna smiled ruefully as Jean-Luc signed off; he had just given her tasks that would keep her away from the Bridge, although with his usual diplomatic brilliance, he had done it in a perfectly logical way. Data was the better choice to look at the escape pod's programming and she was the better choice to go and talk to Admiral Nechayev. Tapping her comm badge again, she asked Geordi to send an Engineering team then set off for Admiral Nechayev's quarters.

An hour later, Jean-Luc was staring in dismay at Data and Paul Fisher. Data had called Paul to the Bridge almost immediately and they had rapidly analysed the data from the escape pod before delving into the Enterprise's own programming. Data had then calmly explained that the failsafe systems that should have prevented the escape pod from launching had not worked because of faulty programming.

'Bill Nechayev did not take any of the steps required to launch an escape pod when the ship is not at Red Alert. In fact, he attempted to abort the launch. His commands were ignored, as were Commander Troi's, despite the fact that Commander Troi has command authorisation over all safety systems.'

Jean-Luc nodded acknowledgement and said,

'It's definitely a programming error?'

'Yes, Captain,' said Paul, 'Several key loops were excluded by a faulty code string, which means that an escape pod will launch as soon as it detects someone inside it and the launch cannot be aborted.'

'Data, have all hands been advised to stay out of the escape pods except in an emergency?'

'Yes, Captain and all escape pod maintenance has been removed from the engineering schedules.'

'And this error is in the main computer not the escape pod's computer?'

'Yes, Captain.'

'Are any other systems affected?'

'Unknown, Captain,' said Data, 'All systems were supposedly checked and cleared by Starfleet before the Enterprise was commissioned. This error should have been discovered during those checks.'

'So what you're saying is that there could be any number of mistakes?'

'Yes, Captain,' said Paul, 'but there probably aren't many. Most of the systems are subject to multiple checks by multiple people. The escape pod's programming is so simple that it only gets a routine check.'

'Nevertheless, we don't know for certain.'

'No, Captain.'

Jean-Luc paced the length of his Ready Room twice before bowing to necessity,

'Check the entire coding for mistakes. Start with Life Support and Impulse Engines. Then the Warp Engines, Medical, Navigation, Shields and Weaponry systems. Then everything else. Let me know as soon as you've checked the impulse engine's programming so we can get underway again.'

'Yes, Captain,' said Data.

'You have my permission to co-opt anyone you need; I want this done as quickly as possible.'

'Actually, Captain…'

'Yes, Lieutenant?'

'It will probably be quicker if I do this alone. The systems are all inter-linked so having more people just leads to confusion.'

Jean-Luc repressed the urge to tell him not to be ridiculous; one man surely couldn't check the whole of the Enterprise's computer code in any reasonable time scale. But Paul was a computer genius, able to commune with the computer at a level very few people could achieve. Turning to Data, Jean-Luc said,

'Do you concur, Mister Data?'

Data paused briefly and Jean-Luc knew that he was calculating the different probabilities involved. After a couple of seconds, Data said,

'I do, Captain. Allowing Mister Fisher to work alone gives the best probability of success.'

'Very well. Make it so.'

Data and Paul hurried off and Jean-Luc returned to the Bridge and prepared to wait.

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	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Deanna waited, knowing that it wouldn't be long before Alynna noticed that they hadn't got underway again. Nechayev had been a starship captain for too many years to be oblivious to the ship's motion for long. On hearing that Bill had been hurt, the admiral had ignored Deanna's attempt to continue explaining and had hurried to Sickbay. Once there, Alynna had demanded an immediate briefing but had then waited patiently for the medical team to finish working.

Beverly moved away from the bed and said,

'He's going to be fine but he'll have to stay in for a few hours for observation because of the head injury.'

Alynna nodded and said,

'Thank you, Doctor.'

Beverly nodded acknowledgement and Alynna turned to Bill and said,

'What happened? How did you manage to launch an escape pod?'

'I don't know. I wanted to paint it but as soon as the door closed the computer started the launch sequence and wouldn't stop.'

Alynna turned to Deanna and said,

'Is that true, Commander?'

'Yes, Admiral,' replied Deanna, 'It seems to have been a programming error; the pod started its launch sequence as soon as Bill entered and refused the abort command.'

'So you were forced to drop from warp.'

'Yes,' said Deanna, glad that she'd made the correct decision and made it quickly enough.

'And that's why we're still at full stop, isn't it? Because if there's one computer error there might be more?' said Beverly.

'I'm not sure. The captain was going to get Mister Data to look at the pod's programming. They may still be doing that.'

Alynna and Beverly both nodded, then Alynna said,

'Thank you for updating me, Commander. Please tell Captain Picard I'd appreciate an update when he's got time.'

'Yes, Admiral.'

'Dismissed.'

Deanna suppressed a smile as she turned away; Nechayev was technically still on sick leave but habits of command were hard to leave behind. She had activated the door mechanism when she heard Alynna saying,

'Commander?'

'Yes, Admiral?'

'Good work. Thank you.'

Alynna's words were blunt but the emotions behind them were sincere and Deanna smiled as she said,

'Thank you, Admiral.'

Jean-Luc looked up as Data returned to the Bridge, hoping that he didn't have more bad news. Data approached him and said,

'Captain, may I have a word with you, please?'

'Certainly, Mister Data. Let's go into my Ready Room.'

Data followed Jean-Luc into his Ready Room and they sat down. Jean-Luc braced himself inwardly and said,

'Report.'

'Mister Fisher has begun his check of all of the Enterprise's programming. We had a discussion before he began and there are a couple of points that I felt should be brought to your attention.'

'Go ahead.'

'As you know, Mister Fisher is a level eight computer specialist.'

'Yes,' said Jean-Luc impatiently.

'He explained his method of working to me and we agreed that all communication with him during this period would be over the padd system because face to face interaction is too distracting.'

'Agreed. Send a memo round to all the section heads.'

'Yes, Captain. Also, in light of the urgency of the situation, Mister Fisher intends to work continuously until the work is done. To that end he is going to bypass the medical controls in the replicator in the main computer lab so that he can have stim shots whenever necessary. He appreciates that this violates a number of medical and health and safety regulations but he sees no alternative.'

'How long do you think it's going to take him?'

'To check the entirety of the ship's coding? I estimate that it will take between seventy and a hundred hours assuming that no major errors are discovered.'

Most humans started needing stim shots after fifteen to twenty hours if they were concentrating. Paul Fisher was going to be well into overdose territory before he finished. Jean-Luc nodded acknowledgement but said,

'I'll have to consult Doctor Crusher. We're in Federation space and we're not in any danger so there's no reason for Mister Fisher to put himself at risk.'

'Understood…'

'But?'

'Mister Fisher becomes unaware of the passing of time when he is deep in thought. He relies on co-workers or alarms to remind him of social and other obligations.'

'So?'

'My impression was that Mister Fisher will not stop until he has completed his task not from any wish to flout regulations but because of who he is.'

Jean-Luc grimaced; Beverly was not going to be happy about this. Sighing, he said,

'I'll go and talk to Doctor Crusher.'

Jean-Luc walked confidently into Sickbay, knowing that any trace of alarm or uncertainty from him would affect morale through the entire ship at a time of uncertainty like this. Once he'd spoken to Admiral Nechayev and Beverly, he'd issue a ship-wide bulletin. Beverly was treating a patient so Jean-Luc said,

'Doctor, could I have a word once you've finished, please?'

'Yes, Captain.'

Jean-Luc went over to Bill Nechayev's bed and said,

'Hello, Bill. How are you?'

'I feel a bit battered but Doctor Crusher says that will go off in an hour or so.'

'Good. I'm sorry you were hurt.'

'I gather it was a computer error.'

'Yes,' admitted Jean-Luc, aware of Alynna Nechayev's eyes boring in to him, 'We're looking into it.'

'Okay,' said Bill, indifferently.

'I would appreciate an update, Captain.'

'Yes, Admiral. Investigation revealed a coding error in the escape pod's control system such that automatic launch was always enabled and command overrides were disabled. In the light of this, I have ordered a complete review of all of the Enterprise's computer programming.'

'Have you considered sending a mayday to the nearest starbase?'

'I have, Admiral, but since we are in no immediate danger and have a level eight computer specialist on board, I have decided to wait for the results of his analysis.'

'Level eight? I thought Commander Data was only a level six computer specialist?'

'He is. Lieutenant Fisher is a level eight computer specialist.'

Nechayev paused briefly then nodded, saying,

'Keep me updated.'

'Yes, Admiral.'

Nechayev returned her attention to her husband and Jean-Luc moved over to the door of Beverly's office to wait for her to be free.

Ten minutes later, Beverly handed her patient over to Nurse Ogawa and came over to Jean-Luc, saying,

'You wanted to speak to me, Captain?'

'Yes, Doctor.'

Jean-Luc led the way into Beverly's office and waited until Beverly had shut the door before saying,

'Did you hear what I said to Admiral Nechayev?'

'Yes.'

'Paul is going to be spending the next few days going through the programming to see if there are any other errors.'

'On his own?'

'By his request and Data's recommendation.'

'So I'm not going to see him for several days?'

'No. You'll find a message from Data in your inbox asking for any contact with Paul to be by padd only. Apparently when he immerses himself completely in his work he becomes oblivious to the outside world.'

Jean-Luc waited whilst Beverly processed this, knowing that no matter how mature and intelligent you are, the knowledge that your lover intends to block you out for several days needs to be thought about. After a few seconds, Beverly nodded and said,

'Understood. There's more I assume?'

'Yes. Even though we're safe from attack, we're still completely vulnerable to stellar phenomena or accidents so Paul's going to work flat out so he'll be using stim shots.'

'For how long?'

'Data estimated seventy to a hundred hours.'

'Jean-Luc, that's far too long for a human to be on stim shots.'

'I know. That's why I'm here. How long before he must get some rest?'

'Hmm… let me access Paul's records a minute.'

Jean-Luc waited quietly whilst Beverly did some calculations. After a few minutes she said,

'The Sickbay computer is recommending forty hours but that's a conservative figure based on no medical intervention at all afterwards.'

'And your recommendation?'

'Without being able to monitor him, the longest I'm prepared to say is fifty-five hours.'

'And if you could monitor him?'

'Then it might be longer but what did you have in mind? One of us scanning him at regular intervals will be very distracting.'

'Could a tricorder be set up to remotely transmit scans to you?'

'Yes but that would only work if he stays in one place.'

'Presumably he's going to have to take breaks for food and so on but otherwise he's going to be in the computer lab the entire time.'

'All right.'

Jean-Luc could tell that Beverly was still unhappy so said,

'Beverly, you're the Chief Medical Officer. I'm not going to overrule you if you say he has to take a break. Also, he's starting with the most critical systems first so the further along he gets the less it matters if he takes a break.'

'All right.'

Beverly smiled weakly before continuing,

'One of the things I really liked about Paul was that he wasn't going to go on away missions so I didn't have to worry about him killing himself but he's managed to find a way to make me worry after all.'

Jean-Luc smiled sympathetically,

'This is a one in a billion situation. The odds of this ever occurring again are virtually non-existent.'

'Good.'

'I'll ask Data to work out the best place to put a medical tricorder.'

'Thanks, Jean-Luc. By the way, is Data going to be the new first officer.'

Jean-Luc suppressed his amusement at Beverly's artificially casual tone, clearly the betting pool was already up. Keeping his face completely neutral, he said,

'I haven't made a decision yet.'

'Well if you need a sounding board, I'm happy to help.'

'I'll bear that in mind.'

'Well I should be getting back to work, unless there was anything else.'

'No, thank you, Beverly.'

Jean-Luc left Sickbay and, having arranged for Data to report to Sickbay, made a brief announcement about the situation then went back to his quarters to do some reading. Once there however he found it impossible to concentrate so changed into fitness clothing and went to the gym, burying his anxiety about the ship in physical exercise.

**Please review. Thanks.**


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